You can sell your cell phone plan

STEVE SVEKIS Answers Consumer Questions

Each Sunday in Community News, Help Team columnist Steve Svekis answers questions about consumer-related issues. To submit a question, e-mail helpline@sun-sentinel.com or call 954-356-4610.

Q I feel stuck in my mobile phone plan. I'm three months into a two-year contract and the reception I get on my cell is disappointing. However, my contract states that I will have to pay more than $200 to terminate the plan early. The signal clarity isn't so corrupt as to make paying that penalty worthwhile. Am I stuck?

A There are a couple of prominent Web sites that specialize in ridding people of undesirable plans.

The sites, cellswapper.com and celltradeusa.com, match up people looking to exit plans with those eager to get on board plans shorter than those 24-month marathons being offered by the industry.

Both sites are free for those looking to pick up a plan. For those looking to exit, cellswapper charges $14.95 for a listing after it has received a notice of interest (you can instead pay $9.95 for the listing, but if there are no takers, you are out that money), while a $19.99 payment unlocks leads expressing interest in your plan at celltradeusa.

Celltrade spokesman Eric Wurtenberg said that the site has "between 1,200 and 1,500" listings from people looking to exit plans. Interestingly, he says the number of people looking to pick up a plan is "nearly triple that."

Once the parties agree to a transaction, they must get final clearance from the service provider. For instance, the company will want to make sure that the person taking over the plan has good credit, or make sure that the person getting out is fully paid up.

One key negative in swapping plans is number portability, the ability to switch the same number from one phone to the next, is poor.

A family of four, who might save between $600 and $800 in early termination fees, probably would not have an issue with getting four new numbers. A professional doing business with a cell, on the other hand, might find some minor inconveniences paling against the specter of losing a number familiar to many customers.